


growing pains

by luladannys



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Runaways (TV 2017), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Gen, Non-Super AU, Past Child Abuse, dad tony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-03-18 07:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13676649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luladannys/pseuds/luladannys
Summary: If ten years ago someone had told Tony Stark that his world would revolve around three boys who he had adopted of his own volition, he would have laughed. Hard. And yet here he was now, making sure Harley has his inhaler and Peter finishes his book report and Chase gets enough sleep.





	1. sick

**Author's Note:**

> This is being written as an ongoing Valentine's Day present for my best friend, who was probably joking when she told me to write this idea I randomly texted her after watching Runaways. Writing this is very self-indulgent & may end up really being just for my friend & I, but I hope that someone else out there enjoys it too. :)
> 
> I've changed the backstories of each of the boys a tiny bit and, rather than give you everything at once, I tend to allude to things that will eventually form the bigger picture of what each of them has gone through.

Tony stood over the stove, wondering, as he looked down at the pan full of eggs before him, if he should just invest in his own chicken farm. His boys went through enough that the purchase wouldn’t be unwise.

“JARVIS, look for chicken farms for sale. Free-range.”

“Are we moving to a farm?” Chase asked as he came up alongside Tony to get some coffee.

Tony scoffed. “God, no. There’s a reason you’ve never seen me in plaid.”

Chase put a bagel into the toaster and fixed his coffee with lots of sugar before taking a long drink. The corner of Tony’s mouth twitched as he wanted to say something about how someone Chase’s age shouldn’t drink so much coffee, but didn’t because he knew he had been the exact same way at seventeen. The one time he had tried to discourage Chase’s coffee drinking by telling the boy it would stunt his growth, Chase had just plastered a shit-eating grin on his face and said, “I’ll still be taller than you.”

“JARVIS, tell Peter and Harley breakfast is in five minutes.”

“Unfortunately, Peter is not yet awake, sir.”

Tony sighed and Chase set down the unfinished half of his bagel, saying that he would go wake the younger boy up. As he walked back up the stairs to where their rooms were, eleven-year-old Harley flew past him. Harley was always determined to get to food before the others, even though there was always plenty to go around. He must not have known that Peter was still asleep and not his competition this morning.

Chase pushed open the door to Peter’s room to see a ball of body underneath the covers of the bed. A mess of wavy dark hair rested atop the pillow. Chase went over and placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder, shaking gently.

“Hey, c’mon, you overslept.”

Peter groaned, but not in the normal tone of a teenage boy who did not want to be woken up. It sounded weak and somewhat pained. Chase turned on the lamp next to Peter’s bed and touched his shoulder again.

“Pete? You okay?”

Peter made another feeble noise and curled in more on himself.

“JARVIS, get Tony up here. Something’s wrong with Peter.”

Tony was there almost immediately with concern etched across his face the way it always was when there was something wrong with one of his boys. He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed Peter’s arm.

“Peter, can you look at me? What’s wrong, bud?” he asked, the effort to keep his voice calm evident.

Peter didn’t budge and Tony slid his hand between the pillow and Peter’s face to feel the boy’s forehead.

“Jesus, he’s burning up. Chase, give me a hand.”

Together, they gently turned Peter’s body to face them, the boy making faint sounds of protestation as they did so. His face was pale and sweaty, tendrils of hair stuck to his forehead. Chase quickly scrambled out of the room to find a thermometer while Tony pushed back the sticky clumps of hair, softly encouraging Peter to open his eyes. They did slightly, but fluttered back shut against the light.

Chase returned with the thermometer and helped Tony position Peter into a slightly more upright position by adding a second pillow behind him. They coaxed Peter into opening his mouth to get the thermometer under his tongue, but Tony had to hold the device to keep it from slipping out. Peter was clearly in absolute misery and the heartbreak on Tony’s face was obvious.

After a moment, the thermometer beeped and Tony took it out to reveal a temperature of 103. It didn’t matter that Tony had handled illness with Peter and Harley before; any time one of his kids was sick or hurt he felt helpless and panicked. He always blamed himself even though the situations were always out of his control. Right now, he was wondering how in the hell he had fucked up so bad that Peter had managed to get the flu despite all of them having gotten their flu shots.

“What’s going on?” came a quiet voice from behind them.

Tony and Chase turned to see Harley standing in the doorway.

“Peter’s just a little sick,” Chase answered, not wanting to worry the youngest boy. “Could you bring us a washcloth with some warm water on it?”

Harley nodded and disappeared down the hall.

“I can stay here with him today,” Chase said to Tony as they started pulling back all the covers that Peter had wrapped himself in.

“Why would you do that?” Tony responded, his defensiveness rising. “I’m more than capable of taking care of him. I’m his guardian.”

“I…I just want to help.”

Tony checked himself, remembering that Chase had felt obligated to keep himself home to take care of his ailing father before he died. He wasn’t implying anything about Tony’s parenting skills. He was just used to taking care of people.

“No, I’ve got it,” Tony told him. “I don’t need two of you missing school. Just drop off and pick up Harley for me, okay?”

Chase hesitated, but nodded. Harley then returned with the dampened cloth and brought it over for Tony to place over Peter’s forehead. Peter whimpered slightly at the feeling of the lukewarm water, which felt freezing to his overheated body.

“Come on, squirt,” Chase declared, jostling Harley’s mop of shaggy blonde hair. “We’re gonna be late for school.”

“But Peter…”

“Peter will be fine. Tony’s gonna take care of him and he’ll be annoying us again before we know it.”

Harley didn’t want to leave, but allowed himself to be steered out by Chase’s hand between his shoulders. After getting Harley out of the room, the oldest boy turned back and told Tony to text him if they needed anything. Tony smiled faintly and said he would, turning back to Peter once the other two were gone.

“You’re lucky to have so many people who care about you, kid.”

* * *

Tony had JARVIS cancel all his meetings for that day and went into full nurse mode. He had Peter drink cool water and take some Tylenol. He opened a window and let the fresh air cool the dampness on Peter’s head during the intervals where he would remove the washcloth. Peter started breaking out of the daze his sickness had put him under and was more responsive.

The fever wasn’t going down, so Tony ran a warm bath and helped a shaky Peter into bathroom, where he stripped down to his boxers and climbed into the water, shivering at the temperature. Tony let him sit in there with the bathroom door cracked while he pulled the sheets that smelled of sickness and sweat off of Peter’s bed and gave JARVIS a shopping list of things to have delivered to the house. He left Peter a clean set of pajamas in the bathroom and gave him privacy to change, but hovered by the bathroom door in case Peter fell or needed help.

Slowly, they made their way down the stairs to where Tony deposited Peter on the couch to watch TV while he went into the kitchen. He cleaned up what remained of breakfast, which had been abandoned by everyone but Harley. Even then, it didn’t appear as though the youngest boy had eaten much. He had probably been too worried once Tony ran upstairs to meet Chase in Peter’s room. All three of the boys felt things very deeply, but naturally Tony worried the most about the youngest of them.

The groceries he had ordered were on their way, so he started with what he already had in the kitchen. He cooked some chicken and by the time he was done shredding it, the delivery guy was outside. After that, a pot of chicken soup came together quickly. It wasn’t his finest work, but he needed to get something into Peter’s stomach. He brought soup, crackers, and a glass of apple juice over to Peter on a tray. Once Peter was settled and started eating, Tony made a bowl for himself, realizing how hungry he was. He joined Peter on the couch, where the boy was watching Star Trek.

Shortly after finishing his lunch, Peter’s eyelids started drooping and his head was lolling against the back of the couch. Tony grabbed a nearby throw pillow and handed it to him. Peter, rather than stretch out in his own space on the immense sectional couch, put the pillow on Tony’s lap and laid his head down on top of it there. Tony put his feet up on the small table in front of them amongst their dishes, knowing he’d be in this spot for a while. He held a hand to Peter’s forehead for a moment. It was still hot, but he was pleased to find that the fever seemed to be going down. He would take Peter’s temperature again after he woke up. Tony moved his hand up to brush his fingers through the boy’s hair and Peter was asleep almost instantly. He found himself left with the company of the Enterprise crew and maybe, just maybe, took a little bit of a nap himself.


	2. brothers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of Harley's backstory in this one!

Peter wasn’t angry to find Harley in his room, nor very surprised. The younger boy was laying sideways across Peter’s bed, his head and arms dangling over the edge as he looked down at a framed photograph. It was one that Peter kept on his dresser of him and his parents, the last photo of all of them together before his parents had died. Harley liked to look at it sometimes and Peter knew it was because Harley didn’t have any photographs of his own parents to look at.

Peter sat down on the bed beside him. “You okay?”

Harley shrugged, not looking up. “It’s just not a good day.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

Harley didn’t respond right away and Peter didn’t push him to. They all had bad days from time to time, but always turned to each other or to Tony to get through it.

“I don’t remember what they look like anymore,” Harley finally said softly, his voice breaking. “I don’t trust the picture in my head. It changes sometimes and I don’t know what’s real.”

Peter heard a teardrop land on the glass of his picture frame and rubbed a hand comfortingly over Harley’s back.

“I just wish I knew what _she_ looked like,” Harley choked out, crying now without restraint.

Peter knew that the _she_ Harley was talking about was not his mother. It was his little sister, who had only been a baby when their parents left Harley. That was the part of his situation that haunted Harley the most – that his parents had left him and taken her.

Harley finally tilted his head to look up at Peter, his face puffy and eyes rimmed red. “She probably doesn’t even know about me. I bet they never told her. We could walk right by each other and never know.”

Peter took him by the shoulders and pulled him up and into a hug. Harley buried his face in Peter’s shoulder and cried there, squeezing Peter back tightly. Sometimes when he got too far lost thinking about the family that had left him so long ago, he needed to feel that the family he had now was tangible and real and not a figment of an abandoned child’s imagination.

“I’m so sorry, Harley,” Peter said softly. “And I’m sorry for her, that they took her away from you, because they made her miss out on having an amazing brother. I know I’m lucky to have you as mine.”

“I love you, Peter.”

“I love you, too.”

When Harley eventually pulled out of their embrace, he wiped the remaining traces of tears off of his face.

“Do you want to stay in here tonight?” Peter asked him.

He nodded, smiling slightly. “Can we ask Chase, too?”

Peter ruffled his hair. “Of course. I’ll make him bring snacks.”

Harley ran off back to his own room to grab stuff while Peter texted Chase, saying that Harley was having a bad day and needed a brothers night. Chase was there moments later, arms full of practically everything from the snack pantry in the kitchen. Harley dragged all the covers from his bed across the hall into Peter’s room and Chase followed suit, going to get his.

* * *

When Tony arrived home that evening, he found the three boys inside the finest blanket fort he had ever seen (even better, he wasn’t ashamed to admit, than the ones he and Rhodey would occasionally build in college). They were watching Night at the Museum, which he knew was one of Harley’s favorite movies. Tony squatted down and pulled back one of the blankets.

“Hey, sorry I’m late. You guys okay?” he asked.

The three of them, all already in their pajamas despite it only being seven thirty, nodded. Tony looked around at the various bags and containers of chips and candy around them.

“Did you guys eat dinner?”

Harley’s ears turned pink, giving them away.

“I’ll order pizza.”

He stepped out of the room to make the order, sending a text to Peter and Chase to ask if Harley was okay. He knew what they all did to comfort each other when one was having a bad day. For Harley, it was a sleepover and movies.

_We talked earlier. He’s good. :)_ Peter replied.

When the pizzas arrived, Tony brought them in to the boys, wearing sweatpants and a faded Aerosmith t-shirt.

“Mind if I come in for a bit?”

They made room for Tony and the food and continued watching Harley’s favorite movies. When it started getting a little late, Tony made to leave and let them be.

“You’re not gonna stay?” Harley asked, sounding disappointed.

“If I stay, I get the bed. I’m too old to be camping on the floor.”

“Deal!”

When Tony stirred awake at one point in the middle of the night, he looked down to see Chase, Harley and Peter sleeping beside each other on the floor, illuminated by the glow of the TV that was still on, playing some cartoon show at a low volume. He smiled to himself, happy that he had been able to bring the three together and give each of them brothers that loved them unconditionally.

“JARVIS?” Tony whispered.

The AI did not reply, but turned off the TV for him. Tony settled back into a peaceful sleep.


	3. spider

Peter nearly tripped over himself as he ran from his room to Harley’s after hearing the younger boy scream. As he skidded to a stop in the doorway, he found Harley standing atop his desk chair, holding a book as through it was a baseball bat he was going to swing.

“What’s wrong?” Peter demanded.

Harley’s cheeks flushed as a sheepish look came across his face. “There was a spider.”

Peter sighed, relieved that Harley was actually _okay_.

“But I don’t know where it went… I don’t want it in here.”

He hadn’t technically asked, but Peter could tell that Harley wanted him to help find the spider and get rid of it. Peter shuddered. He hated spiders. But he couldn’t say no to Harley.

“Where did you see it?”

Harley pointed to his desk, where there were things scattered about, probably from his brief interaction with the spider. Peter picked up a pencil and used the eraser end to move things around, not wanting to use his hand and risk touching the creature. As he poked around, something slid out and Peter and Harley both let out a yell, but it turned out to only be a paper clip. They looked at each other and made a silent agreement to never speak of the moment.

“Maybe it went behind?” Harley suggested.

They each grabbed an end of the desk and pulled it away from the wall, but there was no spider to be seen. Peter felt a faint itching on his skin, knowing that _somewhere_ nearby was a creepy, crawly eight-legged thing.

“Uh, P-Peter…”

He looked over to see Harley pointing up at the wall, where a brown spider with a thick body was climbing. Harley jumped back and Peter just stood there staring even though his brain was screaming _RUN! SET THE HOUSE ON FIRE AND RUN!_

* * *

When Chase walked into the house, he could hear a faint commotion from the floor above and started up the stairs, the sounds becoming louder as he went. By now, he had learned to not even try to guess what Peter and Harley had gotten themselves into. He walked down the hall and towards Harley’s room, where all the noise was coming from, with no expectations and, yet, he was still surprised.

Harley was jumping up and down on his bed, shouting directions at Peter, who was on Harley’s desk chair brandishing Chase’s lacrosse stick and thumping it against the ceiling.

“What the hell are you doing?”

They both turned to look at him, eyes wide.

“Chase, you get it! You get it!” Harley shouted

Before Chase could even ask what exactly he was supposed to be getting, Peter had leapt down off the chair and shoved the lacrosse stick into his arms. Peter nudged him forward towards the chair and Harley pointed wildly towards the ceiling. Chase had to squint to see a spot on the ceiling that was slowly moving.

“Are you kidding?”

“Ch _aaaaaaa_ se!” Harley whined. “Please!”

Chase rolled his eyes, but climbed up atop the chair anyway. He watched the spider carefully for a moment, before forcefully thrusting the stick up against the ceiling. An outburst from Harley caused him to miss and nearly topple off his perch in the process.

“Don’t kill it!”

“What do you want me to do, then?” Chase demanded.

“I don’t know! Get it out, but don’t kill it!”

Chase raised the stick again, slowly this time, and dragged it gently across the surface of the ceiling towards the spider. He had to stay very still, but the spider finally moved towards it and onto the end of the stick. He carefully lowered the stick back down. The spider was now attempting to hide by crawling through the net part.

“I need a cup,” he told the others.

Peter handed him the closest one, which was a mug Harley had from Universal Studios. Harley groaned, wanting to protest them putting the spider into his favorite cup, but stayed quiet.

Chase held the stick over Harley’s desk and shook it until the spider fell out of the netting. He then placed the mug upside down over the spider and grabbed a piece of paper off the desk to slide underneath.

The three departed the house together to deposit the spider at a distance Harley deemed safe enough (he was afraid of letting it go too close to the house and it coming back). Chase carried the trapped spider because the other two refused, saying that a single sheet of paper was not enough distance between them and the spider.

They walked down the long road that led to the hilltop house from the security gate until Harley gave the okay. Chase then squatted down, removed the paper, and shook the cup gently to encourage the spider to crawl out. He handed the mug back to Harley, who looked at it as though it was tainted now, and they started walking back.

“Just wash it, it’ll be fine,” Chase said.

“Or ask Tony to buy you a new one,” Peter suggested.

“I like the second option better,” Harley admitted. “I can never drink out of this again. I’ll always think a spider is going to crawl down my throat.”

Peter shuddered at the thought.

“Oh, come on, guys,” huffed Chase. “Do you know how many spiders you’re probably surrounded by _all the time_? You just don’t see them.”

Peter and Harley both stopped in their tracks and just stared at Chase as he continued ahead of them.

“Why would you say that?” Peter yelled at him.

Harley wrapped his arms around his middle. “Ugh, I’m not gonna sleep well tonight.”

Chase turned around, walking backwards as he gave them an amused look. “You guys are ridiculous. Most spiders won’t even hurt you. They have more reason to be afraid of you.”

Both Harley and Peter knew that he was right, but that wouldn’t just instantly cure them of their shared fear and overall dislike of the little creatures. They sighed and followed after Chase.

They heard a car driving up the road and then Tony was stopped alongside them. The passenger window rolled down.

“What’re you guys doing out here?”

“Returning wildlife to their natural habitat,” Chase answered with a grin, leaning over to see Tony through the window.

“Wanna hop in?”

Chase looked back at the two younger boys and then shook his head. “Nah, we’re good walking. We’ll see you up there.”

Tony shrugged and continued up the road towards the house. Chase threw an arm around each of his brothers’ shoulders as they started walking once more.

“What would you guys do without me?” he asked.

“Set the house on fire,” said Peter.


	4. chase to the rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who kudos-ed and commented on the first couple of chapters! I'm glad there are other people who enjoy this little family I've put together. :)

Chase was in English class when his phone started buzzing in his pocket. His teacher was so engrossed in her lesson about Tennessee Williams that he was able to take the phone out underneath his desk and check it without her noticing. He had three texts from Peter.

_SOS_

_Meet me in the locker room_

_Please bring me clothes_

Immediately, Chase looked over his shoulder to where the hall pass hung next to the door. Luckily, it was there and his English teacher was one who believed that the students shouldn’t have to ask to use the restroom. He grabbed the pass off the hook and slipped out into the hall.

First, he went to his locker and got the spare clothes he kept there, wondering what had happened to Peter. Then he quickly crossed to the other side of the school where the locker rooms were.

The boys’ locker room was empty when he got there, due to it being the middle of class.

“Peter?” he called out, the name echoing off all the tile and metal in the room.

“In here,” a reply came faintly from the bathroom stalls.

There was only one closed stall door and Chase knocked on it. “You okay?”

He heard the sound of the lock sliding over and the stall door opened to reveal Peter shivering in just his gym shorts and his socks. His hair was wet and he looked completely miserable.

“Dude, what the hell happened?”

Peter snatched the hoodie out of the pile of clothes in Chase’s hands and tugged it on over his head. “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

That immediately triggered Chase’s protective big brother instincts. Peter only clammed up and got defensive if someone was picking on him and he didn’t want Tony or the other boys to know.

“Seriously, Peter, what happened?”

The younger boy reached for the pair of jeans Chase was holding, but Chase held them closer to his chest and gave Peter a look that said he was only getting them if he talked.

Peter muttered something under his breath, crossing his arms and sulking, which made him drown in the excess fabric of Chase’s large hoodie.

“Tell me.”

Peter sighed. “Someone threw up on me.”

Only a single sound of laughter slipped out of Chase, but it still bounced off every surface of the empty locker room. He clapped a hand over his mouth to prevent any more from coming out, but Peter was already mad and yanking the jeans out of his grip. Peter pulled them on over his gym shorts and glared at Chase.

“I’m sorry,” Chase said sincerely. “I’m sorry I laughed. That really sucks.”

“Yeah, it does suck. And so did running here to take a shower only to realize there aren’t any towels and having to use my gym shirt to dry off. It’s freezing in here. I had to throw away my clothes and my shoes are wet because I had to wash them off. I’ve just been hiding in here hoping no one comes in and finds me almost naked. This whole day just sucks.”

Peter rarely got huffy or angsty and it really broke Chase’s heart a little bit to see him that way. Peter was always cheerful and optimistic, which made the little moments when the world broke him down all the more upsetting to watch. Chase did the only thing he could think to do and that was to pull Peter against him in a strong hug.

When Peter’s arms stayed limp against his sides, Chase squeezed harder until the younger boy hugged him back. Peter’s wet hair left a damp spot on the collar of Chase’s shirt, but he didn’t care.

“I’m sorry, Peter,” Chase said again when they stepped apart. “But you’ve got me to come to your rescue and bring you clean clothes, so it’s not all that bad, right?”

Peter pushed a chunk of wet hair off his forehead. “I still have to go back to class and they’re gonna make fun of me. They called me Peter Puker, which doesn’t even make sense because _I’m not the one who puked!_ ”

“Listen, I know you’re embarrassed and upset. You’ve had an awful day. But the only way you’re gonna get through it is to find a way to laugh at yourself. They shouldn’t make fun of you or the other kid in this situation, but as long as you let them get under your skin, they’re going to keep teasing you and calling you dumb names. If you show them you don’t care, they’ll get bored and stop. Besides, you gotta admit, Pete – it’s kinda funny. This is something that would happen in a movie and you would laugh at.”

Peter looked down at himself, wearing a hoodie that was far too baggy for him, jeans that he would have to cuff before walking, and gym shorts as underwear. His socks were dirty from the locker room floor and his shoes were sitting on top of a sink to dry off. He had run through the halls covered in someone else’s puke to get into the shower, only to almost cry in frustration when he couldn’t figure out how to turn it on. His clothes were soaking wet and in a garbage can. He had used his gym shirt as a towel and huddled in a bathroom stall thinking he was going to catch pneumonia before Chase got to him.

He cracked a smile. “Okay. I guess it’s kind of funny.”

“There you go,” Chase said and placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder as he started kicking off his shoes. “You can borrow these, too.”

“What? No. I can’t take your shoes.”

“Sure you can. You already threw away your clothes. What’s the point in salvaging the shoes? We both know Tony would rather just buy you new ones and I’m not letting you get sick from walking around with wet feet.”

“But what are you gonna wear?”

Chase shrugged. “There’s only one period left after this. It doesn’t matter. If anyone notices, I’ll just follow my own advice and laugh at myself. Now, shoes on. I don’t want to get in trouble for being gone for too long.”

Peter bent down to get into Chase’s shoes and roll the jeans up some so they wouldn’t drag on the floor. He grabbed a paper towel and ran it over his head to try to dry his hair some, then threw it into the trash along with his wet, soiled shoes.

They left the locker room together and Chase walked Peter back to his class. Outside the door, Peter took a deep breath and looked down at Chase’s feet, which were now only in socks.

“Thank you.”

Chase smiled. “You got it, bud.”

Once Peter was back inside his classroom, Chase hurried back to his own class, hoping his long absence had not been noticed. On the way, he discovered something he had not thought of when giving Peter his shoes, which was how easy it was to slip on a linoleum floor if you’re only wearing socks.


	5. universal

Chase rolled down his window and waved to Harley, who was standing outside his school, scanning every single one of the many Range Rovers that pulled into the lot. Harley noticed him and hurried over. Once he had his seatbelt on, Chase pulled away from the curb.

“How much homework you got tonight, squirt?” Chase asked. “Be honest.”

“I need to read two chapters of my book and answer questions and I have some math problems to do.”

“Think you can finish all that in the car?”

Harley nodded with an excited glint in his eye. Tony had accompanied Peter on an overnight academic decathlon trip to Sacramento, leaving Chase and Harley alone for the night. Harley had hoped his oldest brother would plan something fun for the two of them to do.

“Open the glove box,” Chase said.

Harley did and found their Universal Studios passes inside. “We’re going on a school night?! Awesome!”

“Just make sure you finish all that homework or Tony will find out that I took you on a school night and never leave me in charge again.”

“I will! I promise!”

Harley immediately cracked open his book for English class and started reading. He finished everything in the hour it took to get to the park, bouncing excitedly in his seat as they pulled up.

Once inside, Harley grabbed Chase by the arm and started pulling him in the direction of the lower lot. The park would only be open for a few more hours and Harley was determined to still get through everything, with the exception of the studio tour ride which lasted an hour. He, of course, wanted to start at his favorite ride, Jurassic Park.

“Come on, come on, come on, come on!”

Chase rolled his eyes, knowing that the park was nowhere near busy enough to warrant such a hurry, but let Harley drag him all the way to the other end anyway. It was, in fact, such a slow day that they rode Jurassic Park twice, did the nearby Mummy and Transformers rides, and then went back to Jurassic Park for a third visit.

Both now soaked from three trips down the waterfall, Chase made Harley take a break to eat dinner, despite the younger boy’s protests that he wasn’t hungry yet. The way he scarfed down his burger and fries begged to differ, though.

Going back to the upper lot, Chase had to tell Harley not to run up all the escalators. The last thing he needed was an asthma attack when Tony had trusted him with Harley. Excited and impatient, Harley slouched back against the side of the escalators as they were pulled back up to the rest of the park.

Chase just let Harley keep leading the way. The younger boy seemed to have a plan in mind, although it didn’t seem to make much sense. They passed through everything in Simpson’s Land to head into Hogsmeade. Like Jurassic Park, they were able to walk right through the queue of the ride inside Hogwarts, so they did it twice. After one trip on the hippogriff coaster, they finished their visit into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with butterbeers.

Harley guided them back to Simpson’s Land, where he convinced Chase to buy one of the giant pink frosted donuts for them to take home, on the condition that all evidence of it would have to be gone before Tony and Peter returned. Having to finish the sugary monstrosity that night was a challenge that Harley was willing to take.

Their night concluded with the Minions ride and Chase slung his arm around his little brother’s shoulder as they walked out of the park.

“Hey, Chase?” Harley asked. “Would Tony be mad if he found out we were here?”

“I don’t think so. I mean, he has his thing about being out late on school nights, but I made sure you finished your homework and I’ll do mine when we get back to the house.”

Chase looked down to see Harley’s eyebrows somewhat furrowed in thought.

“We can tell him, if you want. I don’t want you to feel guilty for keeping something from Tony.”

After a moment, Harley answered, “No, I’m okay. I like having something that’s just ours. Besides, we wouldn’t want Peter being jealous that he didn’t get to go.”

He grinned up at Chase, who jostled him playfully. “Oh, come on, I’m sure Peter is having just as much fun at his nerd competition as we did at Universal.”

They looked at each other and both started laughing.

* * *

When they arrived at the house, Harley was fast asleep in the passenger seat. Chase didn’t want to have to wake him up, but he was also tired and did not feel like carrying an eleven-year-old inside and upstairs.

He shook Harley’s shoulder gently. “Squirt? We’re home.”

Harley tiredly rubbed his eyes and grabbed his stuff. They went into their rooms, where Harley put on pajamas and Chase started pulling out his homework. After giving Harley a few minutes to change, Chase went to go say goodnight.

Harley, already under his covers, mumbled, “Thanks, Chase. I love you.”

Chase smiled. “Love you, too, squirt. Sleep tight.”

He turned off the light and was pulling the door closed behind him when he heard a faint, “Wait.”

“What is it?” Chase asked into the darkness.

“What about the donut?”

“We’ll eat it for breakfast tomorrow, bud.”

Harley’s reply was unintelligible as he slipped back into sleep. Chase pulled the door and went back to his room, just in time for his phone to ring.

“Hey, Tony.”

“You okay? You sound tired.”

“Exhausted. He insisted on zigzagging across the park instead of going in a circle. I actually think I’m a little sore from the rides jerking me around so much. Is this what being old feels like?”

He could practically see Tony’s faux-insulted face on the other end of the call. “I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just insinuate that _I_ am old. Did he have a good time?”

“The best. We rode Jurassic Park three times and I bought him a giant donut for breakfast for tomorrow. He’s knocked out already and it’s only nine-thirty.”

“Did he finish his homework?”

“Yep.”

“Ate real food for dinner?”

“Yep.”

“Brush his teeth before bed?”

Chase’s brief hesitation was enough of an answer.

“It’s okay,” Tony said. “You did good, Chase. Now you can imagine how hard it is for me to wrangle all three of you.”

“You make it look easy.”

“Yeah, I know,” Tony said with a yawn. “Pete and I will be back tomorrow night. We’ll see you then. Just make sure Harley brushes his teeth before school.”

“Will do. Thanks for letting me do this with him today, Tony. We had a really great time.”

“I’m glad. Don’t stay up too late, Chase.”

“Don’t stay up too late, either, old man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know that Sacramento is, in fact, a real place & not just a creation of the incredible mind of Miss Greta Gerwig? Amazing.


	6. someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection

_“Tell them I refuse.”_

_The world went dark around the edges as he was held under the water. Hands yanked him up, let him take a single, gasping breath, and pushed him under again. His body fought, trying to break free of the men forcing his head down. He kicked and jerked his body around, all the while trying to hold his breath, but to no avail._

_They pulled him up again. He sputtered, his chest heaving, and wasn’t even given enough time to take in a full breath before he was underwater once more. The darkness in his vision grew as he fought against his body’s need to inhale. He felt himself getting heavier, slumping against the barrel of water and hanging loosely in his captors’ hands._

_He wasn’t afraid of dying this way. They wouldn’t let him off that easy. That was perhaps the worst part, knowing that although he may slip into unconsciousness right now, he would wake up again. He’d open his eyes and see the ceiling of the cave from the cot where Yinsen would place him after the henchmen left._

_The last bit of light was snuffed out by the creeping darkness that closed in. He didn’t feel anything anymore, but that wouldn’t last forever. Not until he gave in and built the Jericho for the Ten Rings or until they pushed his body to its limit and he finally perished._

_He would wake up again and still be there and be greeted by another day of torture._

“Tony? Tony, wake up.”

His eyes opened and his body instinctively took in a large gasp of air. It took a moment for him to register where he was – not in a cave in Afghanistan, but home, safe, in his own bed.

He felt a hand, a small one, resting on his cheek. His eyes adjusted and he saw Peter kneeling on the bed next to him, wearing Cars pajamas and sleep-mussed hair.

“It’s just a bad dream,” Peter said softly. “It’s okay.”

Tony closed his eyes and felt a tear slip out from between his shut lids, sliding down to soak into his pillow. He was a parent now and here was his kid, his eight-year-old boy who had plenty of his own reasons to be awake scared in the middle of the night, comforting _him_ after a nightmare.

Peter pulled his hand away. “Do you want my Rocket?”

Tony looked to see the boy holding up his favorite stuffed animal, which was oddly and adorably a fluffy raccoon, out towards him. He nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat, and Peter happily tucked Rocket the raccoon under Tony’s arm.

“He helps when I have bad dreams, so he should help you, too.”

“Thank you, Peter. I’m sorry I woke you up.”

Peter shrugged. “It’s okay. Grownups get scared sometimes, just like kids.”

Tony nodded, mindlessly petting the fur of Peter’s stuffed animal between his fingers. He felt the bed shift as Peter laid down next to him. The boy started to hum a song, which Tony immediately recognized.

“You using lullaby on me, kid?”

Peter nodded. “My mommy used to sing it to me, but I don’t remember most of the words, just the way it sounds.”

“That’s alright. I know it. I can help.”

Peter smiled and started humming again. Softly, Tony supplied the words.

_Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what’s on the other side?_

At some point, Peter’s accompaniment waned as he slowly fell asleep. Tony continued singing gently as he covered Peter with the duvet. Then, he settled himself back down and drifted off peacefully with his cuddly borrowed friend, Rocket the raccoon, still under his arm.


	7. the napkin

In Tony Stark’s eyes, Victor Stein had always been a grade-A jackass. Stein had been a couple years ahead of him and Rhodey at MIT and turned his nose up at the pair of them, even when Tony would genuinely try to help him with projects he was working on. The constant snubs only encouraged Tony to show Stein up at every possible turn, correcting his mistakes in front of professors and peers.

The result, of course, was Victor Stein grabbing a sixteen-year-old Tony Stark as he walked across campus one night and slamming him into a wall.

“I worked hard to get here and I’m not gonna have some fucking teenager with daddy’s money ruin this for me. You better stay the fuck out of my way, you hear me?”

“Or what?” Tony sneered back.                                                                                                          

He returned to the dorm that night with a busted lip and a nasty purple bruise forming on his cheek and he had to talk Rhodey out of kicking Stein’s ass.

So, yeah, Tony had never been a fan of the founder and CEO of Nemo.

He _hated_ him, though, the first time he had seen Victor Stein with his son. It was at an MIT alumni function. Tony had left Peter in the care of Happy back at their hotel, not wanting to stuff his ten-year-old into a tuxedo and drag him along to an event that was sure to be a bore. Besides, however much he pretended like he didn’t, Happy liked the kid.

Victor Stein, however, had brought his twelve-year-old son Chase along. The boy stood silently beside his mother, who kept one of her pale slender hands clamped on his shoulder all night. His hair was slicked back and every time he tried to touch it, Janet Stein would silently use her other hand to push his arm back down. The two of them only interacted with other people when it was Victor’s desire for them to do so. He would show his lovely family off, then drift away with the person he was currently talking to and leave them alone once more.

Stein was practically giddy to get the chance to introduce them to Tony and Rhodey.

“This is my wife, Janet, and our son, Chase,” he said, placing a hand on the boy’s head that caused him to flinch, which did not go unnoticed by Tony. “And where’s your boy tonight, Stark?”

“Oh, probably jumping on the hotel bed and eating too much candy. You know, kid stuff.”

Victor slid his hand down to Chase’s shoulder and pulled the boy against his side. Chase stiffened, his tight smile entirely unconvincing and his eyes not meeting Tony or Rhodey’s. “Chase here doesn’t give in to that stuff. He’s quite the upstanding young man.”

“Is that so?” Tony turned to Chase, who had not said a word throughout the entire exchange. “You having fun here tonight, kiddo?”

Chase looked up at his father, whose hand had tightened the slightest bit on his shoulder, before simply saying, “Yes, sir.”

“We should set you and Peter up on a playdate sometime. Do they still call them playdates or is there a cooler term for it now?”

Chase just shrugged and Victor quickly butted in. “I don’t think Chase has the time for that. Have a good evening, gentlemen.”

He walked away from them, pulling Chase with them. Janet followed after offering Rhodey and Tony a paper-thin smile.

“There was not a single moment of that conversation that did not raise a red flag,” Rhodey said.

“I honestly thought that guy couldn’t get any worse, and yet…”

Throughout the evening, Tony kept an eye on the Steins. Chase was only left alone when his parents went to dance in one of the most unromantic displays ever seen. Tony went and sat with the boy, who was at a table in the corner. Chase’s eyes darted around, as if he didn’t know how to interact with people if his father wasn’t there to tell him what to say.

“He hurts you.”

“W-what?” Chase replied.

“Your dad. He hurts you. I’m guessing he hurts your mom, too.”

The boy shook his head. “No. You’re wrong.”

“Listen, kid, I understand,” Tony told him, finally holding down Chase’s gaze with his own. “Whatever he’s convinced you that you are or deserve, he’s wrong. If you need help, you can call me, okay?”

It had been a while since Tony had passed someone his phone number on a cocktail napkin and it was definitely the first time that the person he had passed it to was a child. Chase looked down at it and then back at Tony skeptically. Tony, knowing exactly the state of mind the boy was in, knew better than to try to touch him. He just tapped his finger on the napkin.

“I mean it. I know he’s your dad, but that doesn’t mean he gets to hurt you. You should probably put that somewhere safe. I can’t imagine he’d be happy to find you have my number.”

Chase quickly swiped the napkin off the table and into his lap, where he folded it and stuffed it into his pants pocket. It was then that Victor and Janet returned. Tony smiled at them and rose from the table.

“I was just asking Chase here what he likes to do in his free time. My boy Peter likes Legos. I’ve been hoping to get him into something a little more active, though. He’s not the most coordinated kid.”

“My son isn’t going to help you parent yours,” Victor said coolly. “Chase, come on. It’s time to leave.”

Chase stood and joined his parents. The family turned and walked away. Partway through the large room, Chase glanced back over his shoulder. The fabric of his jacket bunched in Victor’s hand as he squeezed. Chase quickly looked forward again, hanging his head.

Tony took a deep, angry breath, wanting nothing more than to slam Victor Stein up against a wall the way Stein had to him years ago, and felt Rhodey’s hand at his elbow.

“It’s like being an observer of my own childhood,” Tony sighed.

Plunging back into his own memories and conflicted about not being able to do more to help Chase Stein, Tony found himself wanting to go be with Peter, who did not and would never have to know what it was like to be afraid of the male figure in his life.

Rhodey, reading his mind, said, “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

* * *

_“Billionaire tech genius Tony Stark has become a father again, adopting a second child earlier this week. Details of the adoption are not available to the public or press, but Stark has reportedly been flying back and forth from Tennessee for several weeks now. Stark has not yet made an official com-”_

The television went silent, Victor Stein huffing indignantly as he pushed the mute button.

“I can’t believe they let that man take in children. The last thing the world needs is more people turning out like Tony Stark.”

Neither Chase nor Janet replied, which only spurred him to continue.

“He’s never been able to take care of himself, grew up with nannies and butlers. And don’t get me started on how many times his ‘ _friend’_ Rhodes had to save his ass in college. Those kids were better off in orphanages.”

“I bet he’d make it to their games,” Chase muttered under his breath.

There was the high-pitched squeal of Victor’s fork scraping against his plate, but Chase didn’t even flinch at it.

“What did you say, Chase?” Victor demanded, voice cold. “I couldn’t hear you.”

Chase looked up from his plate and met his father’s eye. “I said I bet he’d make it to their games. Unlike you.”

“Chase, your father is ve-”

Victor held up a hand, silencing his wife. “No, no. Chase doesn’t care how busy of a man I am, changing the world and providing for our family. He’s decided that I’m a horrible father because I missed his little games. He thinks _Tony Stark_ would be a better father. That’s fine. Why don’t you invite him this weekend, Chase? I’ll be in Germany.”

Chase’s fist gripped tightly around his fork as he watched his father calmly drain the last of his coffee and get up from the table to leave for the day.

“FUCK YOU!” Chase shouted.

The next thing he knew he was being hauled up out of his chair and his arm was pinned painfully behind his back. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to tune out the sound of his mother screaming. His father leaned over, breath hot and seething against his ear.

“Want to see how well you play your stupid game with a broken arm?” Victor hissed. “Huh? You better watch your mouth, you insolent, ungrateful brat. Do you understand me?”

Chase nodded slightly, afraid to move due to the pressure on his arm, which only tightened when he did so.

“I said, _do you understand me?_ ”

Chase opened his eyes and through gritted teeth replied, “Yes, sir.”

Victor released him carelessly, marching out of the room without looking back at his wife or son. Chase cradled his sore arm against his chest as he dropped himself back into his chair.

His mother came to his side, kneeling down and placing a hand on his cheek. Her face was splotchy and pink, the tracks of her shed tears leaving lines from her eyes to her chin.

“Chase, don’t rile him up like that. You know better.”

He scoffed, not surprised that the blame for his father threatening to break his arm at the breakfast table was falling on him.

“I’m gonna be late for school,” Chase said, jerking his head away from his mother’s touch and standing up.

During their silent drive to school, Chase thought of the napkin, folded and hidden in his dresser. He took it out and looked at it sometimes in the months since he had briefly met Stark, but always put it back. He told himself he was fine, he didn’t need help. His life was bearable. He didn’t want to be a bother.

Tony Stark had a new kid now. He didn’t have the time to worry about Chase.

By now, Stark had to have forgotten all about him.


	8. mother's day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently I've just been in a real "write emo stuff about Chase" mood lately??? I'm???? So sorry?????

Chase remembered the day his mother left vividly. It was only in retrospect, though, that he noticed the odd behavior she had displayed that morning. She had hardly touched her breakfast, simply staring at him from across the table as she held her cup of coffee between her hands. Before they walked out the door, she ran a smoothing hand over nonexistent creases in Chase’s shirt and let her fingers linger in his hair as she fixed that, too. Chase hadn’t shaken her off. His mom went through ups and downs a lot. His father was coming back from a business trip that day. At the time Chase thought maybe she was just relishing in the last moments they had alone and quiet before the monster returned home.

In the car, she continued to direct long glances at him out of the corner of her eye. Chase pretended like he didn’t notice, staring out of his window instead. His mom was just having a weird day, he told himself. It wasn’t the first and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

Little did he know, it _would_ be the last.

He drew the line at letting her kiss him on the cheek before he got out of the car. He was fourteen. That was embarrassing.

“Oh, Chase, please,” Janet whined.

“Mom, stop it. Everyone will see.”

She sighed.

He threw his seatbelt off and grabbed his backpack off the floorboard as he jumped out of the car. While he was shutting the door behind him, his mother yelled, “I love you, Chase!”

He groaned and stomped off, hoping that none of the other kids outside had noticed.

It was only when thinking back on that morning that Chase would realize there had been a strain in her voice. It was desperation and uneasiness and…goodbye.

For a while afterwards, Chase wondered if he had just said he loved her too, maybe she would have taken him with her.

She wasn’t there to pick him up after lacrosse practice ended. She didn’t answer her phone. One of the other parents offered to drive him home if he had a key to get into his house. Chase lied and said he did.

He walked around, looking through windows and knocking on doors, but no one was there. Not the housekeeper, not the gardener, and certainly not his mother. The security system installed on the house was so tight that a passcode was needed to get in and each member of the family or house staff had their own, except Chase. His father didn’t trust him with one.

Chase sat outside, continuing to call his mother’s phone. Every ring that went unanswered tightened up the worried knot that was forming in his stomach.

Headlights appeared in the driveway, blinding him to who was in the car, but he leapt up and ran towards it, expecting it to be her.

“Mom! Mom, are you –”

He froze when he realized it was a Nemo company car and his father stepped out of the backseat.

“Is…is Mom with you?”

Victor frowned. “No. Why would she be?”

“She’s not here. She didn’t pick me up from school. Something must have happened! She could be hurt!”

Chase felt panic coursing through his body and his breathing was shuddery as tears started running down his face. In a completely uncharacteristic moment, Victor did not walk away from him or tell him to stop crying. He placed a hand on his son’s shoulder and took him into the house.

There was even a look of concern on Victor’s face, another foreign sight. It didn’t last very long, though.

The two entered the house and Chase immediately started running around, calling out for his mom.

“Chase!” he heard his father yell and followed the sound to the kitchen.

On the counter there was Janet’s cell phone, car keys, and wallet.

Chase pushed a button on her phone and saw his name listed over and over for the number of times he had called and texted her.

“I…I don’t understand…” Chase said quietly. “If her stuff is here…where is she?”

“Just go to your room, Chase.”

“But something’s wrong! She could be kidnapped! We should call the police!”

Victor slammed his hands down on the countertop. “I said, _go to your room!_ ”

Chase did as he was told, unable to comprehend why his father was no longer worried, but now angry. He dropped his things on the floor and went to his bed, grabbing his pillow to hug against his chest. Under where his pillow had been, there was a folded piece of paper with his name on it. It was his mother’s handwriting.

Chase stared at it for what felt like a very long time before opening it.

_My darling Chase,_

_I love you so much and I will make sure you join me as soon as possible. I couldn’t take you with me right now and that breaks my heart, but I will find a way. In the meantime, make sure to take care of yourself. We’ll be together again soon._

_Mom_

Suddenly, as a pang of anger surged through him, he understood his father’s reaction. His mother wasn’t hurt or missing or kidnapped. She had simply left.

He heard something break downstairs and that was when he knew he’d never forgive her, no matter what sweet words she left behind for him.

She had left him all alone with the monster. A mother who really loved her son wouldn’t do that.

* * *

“Chase?” Harley asked as he and Peter both poked their heads into the doorway.

“What’s up, guys?” Chase replied, pausing the music he had been listening to while doing his homework.

“I know you just moved in with us but…do you want to sign our Mother’s Day card for Tony?”

Chase didn’t hesitate to answer, “Yeah, of course.”

Harley beamed and elbowed Peter lightly before handing Chase the card.

“Peter was worried you would think it’s weird, but I knew you wouldn’t! Tony does so much for us, he deserves to have Mother’s _and_ Father’s Day.”

Chase held his pen over the card and suddenly his mind went completely blank. He looked over the little messages from Peter and Harley already scrawled inside the card, but how could he possibly put into words how grateful he felt to Tony?

His own mother had left him behind with a violent, abusive father, telling him at fourteen years old to _take care of himself_. She hadn’t even come back for him once Victor died. Tony had to have lawyers and a private investigator track her down to sign over guardianship to him.

Tony Stark was the most caring, open-hearted man Chase had ever met, the exact opposite of every bad thing Victor Stein had always said about him. He had opened his home up to the son of a man who never treated him with anything but cruelty. He had given Chase a new family, one that actually cared about each other.

“Chase? Are you okay?”

He felt Harley’s hand on his shoulder and patted it with one of his own.

“Yeah, bud, I’m fine. Do you mind if I take this for a while and give it back to you later?”

Harley shook his head, telling him it was fine.

“Hey, do you think you could drive us to get Tony some flowers?” Peter asked. “We usually have Pepper help us order them, but since you can drive, we could all go pick some out.”

Chase smiled. “Sounds good.”

“Thanks, Chase! This is gonna be the best Mother’s Day ever!” Harley exclaimed. “Peter, we need to make sure we have everything we need to make breakfast, too.”

“Race you to the kitchen,” Peter replied and both boys flew out of the room, the sound of their laughter fading as they ran downstairs.

As he listened to them, Chase didn’t need more time to think about what to write.

_Tony, you’re the best mom/dad/friend anyone could wish for. I know I certainly never thought I’d get it as good as this. Thank you for everything, but most importantly, for my brothers. I love being in this family._


	9. broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN, THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN

Tony Stark had known fear before. He’d been kidnapped and tortured in a cave for three months, yet he could swear that the terror he felt during that time paled greatly in comparison to the fear that struck his heart when Harley hit the ground during his soccer game and did not immediately get up.

Something was _wrong_.

Harley had gotten tripped up or knocked over during games before. He always bounced back up, eager to keep playing. But an absolute _monster_ of a kid had bowled into skinny little Harley and taken him out. The kid didn’t even look back as he ran off across the field with the ball he had just stolen out from under Harley.

Tony, Chase, and Peter all tensed up.

Harley curled in on himself in the middle of the field, his shoulders quivering. Tony was bounding over immediately, followed closely by the other two boys. The referee blew the whistle for a time out and Harley’s teammates crowded around in a concerned circle while the kid who had pushed Harley over was reprimanded and benched.

Tony kneeled down beside Harley, finding his face bright red as he cried uninhibitedly. He was clutching his left arm to his chest and it broke Tony’s heart to hear the wail his son let out when he gently touched it to examine it.

“Is it broken?” Peter asked in a scared, quiet voice.

Tony reached into his pocket and tossed the car keys up at Chase. “Pull the car up. You’re driving. Pete, get ice packs for your brother.”

The two scurried off to take care of their assigned tasks.

“Okay, Harley, honey, I’m gonna help you stand up.”

Harley shook his head and sobbed.

“I know it hurts. We’re gonna get you taken care of. It’s going to be fine, but we need to walk to the car.”

As carefully as possible, Tony helped Harley up to his feet. They walked slowly over to where Chase had pulled up the car. If there hadn’t been so many people around, Chase would have driven right up onto the field for his youngest brother. Peter was waiting there for them with two ice packs that he had taken from the team’s cooler.

Tony situated Harley in the back of the car, wincing at the sound the boy made when the seatbelt brushed his arm. He sat in the backseat with him, taking the ice packs from Peter and holding them on the swollen part of Harley’s wounded arm. Peter jumped into the passenger seat beside Chase and they took off towards the hospital.

* * *

Peter and Chase waited what felt like forever in the halls of the hospital until they could go see Harley. He had needed to be taken for x-rays and then to have a cast put on his arm. Only Tony had gone with him.

The two boys paced anxiously. They had walked down to the cafeteria to kill some time, but, upon arriving there, realized that they didn’t feel like eating. Instead, they stopped in at the gift shop and grabbed a bunch of stuff for their little brother.

When Tony finally came and found them to let them know Harley was ready for visitors, they bolted, making all kinds of noise with the balloons and stuffed animals that they carried.

“Hey, squirt,” Chase greeted as they reached the doorway of Harley’s room.

“How’re you feeling?” Peter asked.

Harley shrugged. “Better. It doesn’t hurt as bad.”

“They gave him something for the pain,” Tony chimed in from behind Chase and Peter. “He’s starting to wind down from the adrenaline of it all.”

The two older boys approached the bed Harley was sitting up in and showered him with the gifts they had gotten him. There was a stuffed frog and a puppy, as well as several mylar balloons in various shapes and sizes. Peter had also gotten him a small bouquet of flowers just because he thought it was cool that they came out of a vending machine.

“Thanks, guys,” Harley grinned, tucking his frog underneath his injured arm.

His cast was a vibrant neon green color. Harley had gotten to pick it out himself. He would have to wear it for a couple weeks and had realized, sadly, that he had not broken the arm that he wrote with, which meant there was no getting out of schoolwork while he healed.

Chase and Peter sat on either side of Harley on the bed and the three chatted excitedly about how they could decorate the cast. Tony leaned back against a wall and watched them with a smile. He knew he had the bravest, best boys in the world.

“Tony?” Harley prompted after a while, stifling a yawn. “Can we go home now?”

“The doctor’s gotta check on you one last time and then we can go.”

Tony stepped out into the hall, hoping the find said doctor and expedite the process of getting Harley home after his long day. Shortly after, Chase was pulling the car up once again while Harley was wheeled out.

“How many balloons do you think it would take for this to fly?” Harley asked, looking up at the balloons that were tied to the wheelchair he was in despite being able to walk just fine.

Tony leaned down and kissed the top of Harley’s head. “I love you, kid.”


End file.
